The following items have been added to our church library and are available to check out! We have included a link to each title on christianbook.com in case you would like to learn more about them. Click below to continue…

Friday, March 1, 2013 • 6-10pm

Family Life Center (gym)

Pizza and pop provided. $5 suggested donation to cover the food, beverages, and prizes for the evening. For guys ages high school and above. Please sign up in the back of the sanctuary, online by logging in to the Table, or by emailing connections.rrc@gmail.com.

On Wednesday this week we begin the season of Lent. The word “Lent” is derived from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning “to lengthen” and refers to a season of the church year when the days become longer similar to our season of spring. The forty days of Lent (Sundays aren’t counted) are probably symbolic of the 40 days’ fast of Moses, Elijah, and especially our Lord himself. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at noon on Saturday before Easter.

The observance of Lent probably originated in the 4th Century and was a time of fasting, self-examination, alms-giving, strict attendance at worship and an abstaining from festivities. The first break in Lenten observance in Europe may have occurred in 1572 when Zwingli sided with certain Zurich printers who insisted that they had to have something more invigorating to eat than fish on Fridays to carry out their duties. In the years since there has been less and less emphasis on the original disciplines of the season. Unfortunately the pre-Lenten festivals such as Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) have had an increased emphasis on self-indulgence with drunkenness, immorality, and destruction being wide spread.

So what are we to do with Lent? If I interpret the New Testament correctly, the whole life of the believer is to be lived in the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus the important question is not “What shall I give up for Lent?” but rather “Am I filled with the Holy Spirit?” or “How can I be filled with the Holy Spirit?”

That being said, it doesn’t necessarily follow that we do away with the celebration of Lent. Don’t Spirit-filled Christians need to look into their personal lives? Of course we do. We all become careless. We all tend to forget our obligations and to ignore those people we should be remembering and helping. All of us need a fresh look at the cross. In other words we need to be filled again and again with God’s Spirit. So whether we decide to give something up for Lent or to do something extra for Lent, may our actions help us to become more like Jesus through the working and leading of the Holy Spirit.

Have a blessed Lenten Season,
Pastor Rick
2013

The RCA’s website has some great resources for families to use during Lent, Easter, and Pentecost. View them here!

Our library has a new book series designed for young readers ages 7 and up: Adventures in Odyssey – The Imagination Station. So far, we have books 1-10, which can be found on the children’s shelf (under the teen books). The books do not have to be read in order. They are a combination of history and adventure involving a boy and his girl cousin who travel into the past by way of a time travel machine called the Imagination Station.

It’s Here!

Rockford Reformed Church is launching a special survey asking for input on your spiritual life and our church’s role in it.

Our goal is to better understand what the church can do to support your spiritual growth.

We’d like to hear from everyone who calls RRC their church home (ages 18 and older). The more input we have, the better our efforts to support your spiritual growth will be. So please…take the survey!

The survey is comprehensive and thought provoking. We’re asking you to set aside 35 – 40 minutes to take it. Think of this time as an investment in your own spiritual life as well as the future of your church. Your specific answers will remain anonymous; only an overall report will be generated for the church as a whole.

The survey is online, so you may take it at home. We will also have computers at church available for you to use.